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Wage Structure, Inequality And Skill-Biased Change: Is Italy An Outlier?

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  • Paolo Naticchioni
  • Andrea Ricci
  • Emiliano Rustichelli

Abstract

This paper investigates the relation between wage structure, inequality and skill-biased change in Italy between 1993 and 2004. Using a quantile decomposition analysis, we point out that changes in wage structure are mainly driven by the negative coefficients component, which represents also one of driving force of the trends of wage inequality. This evidence suggests that the changes in wage structure in Italy can hardly be explained referring to a skill-biased change explanation. Evidence that is further reinforced by a set of descriptive statistics showing that the increasing educational attainments of the workforce might have been crowded out by a stable trend in the demand for skills.

Suggested Citation

  • Paolo Naticchioni & Andrea Ricci & Emiliano Rustichelli, 2007. "Wage Structure, Inequality And Skill-Biased Change: Is Italy An Outlier?," Quaderni del Dipartimento di Economia, Finanza e Statistica 38/2007, Università di Perugia, Dipartimento Economia.
    • Handle: RePEc:pia:wpaper:38/2007
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    Cited by:

    1. Ordine, Patrizia & Rose, Giuseppe, 2011. "Inefficient self-selection into education and wage inequality," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(4), pages 582-597, August.
    2. Damiani, Mirella & Pompei, Fabrizio & Ricci, Andrea, 2011. "Temporary job protection and productivity growth in EU economies," MPRA Paper 29698, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Silvia Micheli, 2010. "Learning Curve and Wind Power," Quaderni del Dipartimento di Economia, Finanza e Statistica 81/2010, Università di Perugia, Dipartimento Economia.
    4. Francesco Venturini, 2011. "Product variety, product quality, and evidence of Schumpeterian endogenous growth: a note," Quaderni del Dipartimento di Economia, Finanza e Statistica 93/2011, Università di Perugia, Dipartimento Economia.
    5. Stefano Herzel & Marco Nicolosi & Cătălin Stărică, 2012. "The cost of sustainability in optimal portfolio decisions," The European Journal of Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(3-4), pages 333-349, May.
    6. Mirella Damiani, 2010. "Labour regulation, corporate governance and varieties of capitalism," Quaderni del Dipartimento di Economia, Finanza e Statistica 76/2010, Università di Perugia, Dipartimento Economia.
    7. Davide Castellani & Fabio Pieri, 2011. "Foreign Investments and Productivity Evidence from European Regions," Quaderni del Dipartimento di Economia, Finanza e Statistica 83/2011, Università di Perugia, Dipartimento Economia.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Educational wage premia; Human Capital; Skill Biased Change; Quantile regression; Wage Decomposition; Italy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials

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